The Ali Dia Football/Soccer Thread

[andrew2209]

A nice reject moment in the Crystal Palace-Barnsely game yesterday:

[DemocalypseNow]

A nice reject moment in the Crystal Palace-Barnsely game yesterday:

Did one of his team-mates put on the wrong kit or something?!

And oh christ, here we go again...

This is stupid. Every time they are referring to 2005 and not 2013. It's over, it's history, he has grown up as a person, Di Canio seems to have acknowledged now it does not have a place in football as he never talks about it anymore. Except for when IDIOTS LIKE THESE KEEP BRINGING IT UP.

Yes, he did something stupid 8 years ago. But it's not something that caused irreparable damage to anyone or anything. It is not a criminal offence in Italy or the United Kingdom. The media are being absolute c**ts about it now. They're giving complete nobodies column inches because they want to blow up the issue out of proportion for the publicity. It's a complete farce. Until Di Canio decides to go on a rampage and start killing Jews himself, there is no need for this nonsense.

I usually like to point out how flawed the right wing is. But this is turning into a witch-hunt. It's disgraceful.

[Warren Hughes]

Want actual clarity on the Di Canio non-issue? Read this.

[AndreaModa]

Yes, he did something stupid 8 years ago. But it's not something that caused irreparable damage to anyone or anything. It is not a criminal offence in Italy or the United Kingdom. The media are being absolute c**ts about it now. They're giving complete nobodies column inches because they want to blow up the issue out of proportion for the publicity. It's a complete farce. Until Di Canio decides to go on a rampage and start killing Jews himself, there is no need for this nonsense.

I usually like to point out how flawed the right wing is. But this is turning into a witch-hunt. It's disgraceful.

The BBC's coverage of football has turned into an absolute shambles recently. I don't know who as been put in charge but their coverage of events is terrible. I mean, last week we had a story on the front page of the BBC Sport website declaring that Paul Ince believed his son was worth £25 million! That was it, it was a complete non-starter, and then they thought it would be wise opening the article to comments, resulting in the usual tirade of rubbish which gives me a good chuckle every lunchtime.

It seems the impartiality and balanced reporting of events has been thrown out of the window, to be replaced by sensationalist, shallow, baseless "stories".

[takagi_for_the_win]

A nice reject moment in the Crystal Palace-Barnsely game yesterday:

Did one of his team-mates put on the wrong kit or something?!

No, both Barnsley's home and away kits clashed with the Crystal Palace home kit, so Barnsley had to wear Crystal Palace's away gear

[FullMetalJack]

A nice reject moment in the Crystal Palace-Barnsely game yesterday:

Did one of his team-mates put on the wrong kit or something?!

No, both Barnsley's home and away kits clashed with the Crystal Palace home kit, so Barnsley had to wear Crystal Palace's away gear

That's why you have 3rd kits like we have for the past few seasons.

[takagi_for_the_win]

That's why you have 3rd kits like we have for the past few seasons.

Yeah, but this is Barnsley we're talking about... They're not exactly at the cutting edge...

[Barbazza]

A nice reject moment in the Crystal Palace-Barnsely game yesterday:

Did one of his team-mates put on the wrong kit or something?!

And oh christ, here we go again...

This is stupid. Every time they are referring to 2005 and not 2013. It's over, it's history, he has grown up as a person, Di Canio seems to have acknowledged now it does not have a place in football as he never talks about it anymore. Except for when IDIOTS LIKE THESE KEEP BRINGING IT UP.

Yes, he did something stupid 8 years ago. But it's not something that caused irreparable damage to anyone or anything. It is not a criminal offence in Italy or the United Kingdom. The media are being absolute c**ts about it now. They're giving complete nobodies column inches because they want to blow up the issue out of proportion for the publicity. It's a complete farce. Until Di Canio decides to go on a rampage and start killing Jews himself, there is no need for this nonsense.

I usually like to point out how flawed the right wing is. But this is turning into a witch-hunt. It's disgraceful.

Regarding the kit thing, yes - that was stupid. Referee's decision - just like the time we turned up at Villa Park and the ref (Rob Styles - some may remember his general incompetence all round) decided he didn't like our sky blue away kit supposedly clashing with Villa's home kit despite the fact that we'd gone there many times before wearing those colours. He then made Villa change THEIR kit into their 3rd (all white) strip. Cue a desperate rush to the club shop to find some - because, not surprisingly they weren't expecting to need any - and get numbers printed on them. Which they just about did in time, although some were practically falling off. IIRC, some had names on, some didn't. Utter farce.

As for the Paolo thing, I do wonder whether Shaka is showing his Newcastle loyalties a bit too much there. If he cared that much, you'd think he would have mentioned it when playing alongside him for us. I never liked Shaka anyway, he always thought he was about 10 times better than he actually was (average)

[Barbazza]

The BBC's coverage of football has turned into an absolute shambles recently. I don't know who as been put in charge but their coverage of events is terrible. I mean, last week we had a story on the front page of the BBC Sport website declaring that Paul Ince believed his son was worth £25 million! That was it, it was a complete non-starter, and then they thought it would be wise opening the article to comments, resulting in the usual tirade of rubbish which gives me a good chuckle every lunchtime.

It seems the impartiality and balanced reporting of events has been thrown out of the window, to be replaced by sensationalist, shallow, baseless "stories".

BBC Sport is a disgrace, and has been for years. The quality of reporting on the website in particular is dreadful - as you say, there are non-stories everywhere and nothing ever seems to be checked for factual errors (or, quite often, even basic grammar)

I think it went downhill when Mihir Bose was in charge. I couldn't stand the man, he only seemed to be doing the job to cover every single sports story himself on BBC News. The number of times he would turn up on the evening news was unbelievable.

[Nessafox]

That's why you have 3rd kits like we have for the past few seasons.

3rd kits won't help. AA Gent usually has between 3 and 5 kits during one season (white,blue,red, black and very often a blue-white combination), and they still managed to be forced playing in Genk's outfit once. Such situations are usually a result of lack of communication. (and small things like that is one of the reasons Gent has never been champion)

[DemocalypseNow]

Still the best video on the internet.

Gah, I'm not even a Wolves fan and I still miss Mick. Relegation battles are boring without hiM!

[David AGS]

A nice reject moment in the Crystal Palace-Barnsely game yesterday:

The shirt sponsor would be happy.

Actually, I remember that 2005-2006? When Arsenal played Hamburger FC in the Champions League. Due to Fly Emirates sponsoring both teams, the home team would continue with their normal logo while the opposition had 'Dubai' on their shirts.

This has been relaxed by UEFA though, with PSG, Milan and co with similar backing

[takagi_for_the_win]

Just to please Stramala, here is something I saw on facebook

[DemocalypseNow]

Just to please Stramala, here is something I saw on facebook

It doesn't please me at all. It makes me quite angry really.

All of this nonense about di Canio and politics is detracting from the fact his squad is crap and the team he is coaching are crap. Let's just focus on the football and watch the mackems go down to the Chumpionship next season!

[takagi_for_the_win]

Just to please Stramala, here is something I saw on facebook

It doesn't please me at all. It makes me quite angry really.

All of this nonense about di Canio and politics is detracting from the fact his squad is crap and the team he is coaching are crap. Let's just focus on the football and watch the mackems go down to the Chumpionship next season!

I know, what really pisses me off is that he is just trying to do his job, but the media are trying to turn it into a witch-hunt. I mean, where was everyone when di Canio was coaching in the lower leagues. It's all been blown massively out of proportion by a hype-seeking media, looking to cause a spectacle. Everythings a massive over-reaction, especially the miner's petition. But yeah, can't see the Mackems staying up now, hope di Canio likes the Championship.

[roblo97]

Just to please Stramala, here is something I saw on facebook

It doesn't please me at all. It makes me quite angry really.

All of this nonense about di Canio and politics is detracting from the fact his squad is crap and the team he is coaching are crap. Let's just focus on the football and watch the mackems go down to the Chumpionship next season!

I know, what really pisses me off is that he is just trying to do his job, but the media are trying to turn it into a witch-hunt. I mean, where was everyone when di Canio was coaching in the lower leagues. It's all been blown massively out of proportion by a hype-seeking media, looking to cause a spectacle. Everythings a massive over-reaction, especially the miner's petition. But yeah, can't see the Mackems staying up now, hope di Canio likes the Championship.

maybe he did it bcause he knew they were going to be relegated and swindon were not going to be promoted
photo is brilliant though

[Warren Hughes]

takagi_for_the_win, you won't like this, but I think we're staying up at your expense. We've taken decisive action to arrest our slide and the early evidence suggests it might just be working. Your lot however, are on a longer run without a win and have taken no action at all to turn things around. Surely you must be worried?

[Londoner]

I so hope Norwich go down this year. Can't stand most of their fans.

I suppose it's down to them being the local "big" team here in East Anglia, but still...

[Shadaza]

I'm as anti-Right wing as anyone but frankly it should not be a distraction from his job as a football manager. There are thousands of people working in the football industry and say 5% of people have extreme left or right views that means there are going to be hundreds with similar views. As long as Di Canio isn't actively inciting violence then really there shouldn't be an issue, we are a tolerant society right?

That being said, I think he is a four letter C word and won't at all be sad if he brings the team down the bog.

[takagi_for_the_win]

takagi_for_the_win, you won't like this, but I think we're staying up at your expense. We've taken decisive action to arrest our slide and the early evidence suggests it might just be working. Your lot however, are on a longer run without a win and have taken no action at all to turn things around. Surely you must be worried?

I am worried about relegation- I mean, we were awful against Aston Villa, truly dreadful- but, without trying to be too blinkered, I genuinely think that we're staying up. We actually have a decent squad, easily mid table standard, but for whatever reason, we haven't been able to finish teams off, which is always a worry. It's not even a recent thing, if I remember correctly, we drew 5 of our first 7 matches and lost the other 2. When your playing the best the division has to offer, theres no shame in a record like that, but when you look at some of the teams we've played recently, it is enough to make you worry. However, for the time being, I have faith in Pulis to sort the ship out, so long as the owner's don't make a hasty hire n' fire decision.

[roblo97]

It's a shame because stoke and Sunderland have got very good players not being utilised to there full potential IMO

[FullMetalJack]

I so hope Norwich go down this year. Can't stand most of their fans.

I suppose it's down to them being the local "big" team here in East Anglia, but still...

I'm really hoping Villa go down obviously. I want Norwich to stay up, purely because I want Chris Hughton to do well, was a massive fan of him when he was our manager last season.

[takagi_for_the_win]

I so hope Norwich go down this year. Can't stand most of their fans.

I suppose it's down to them being the local "big" team here in East Anglia, but still...

I'm really hoping Villa go down obviously. I want Norwich to stay up, purely because I want Chris Hughton to do well, was a massive fan of him when he was our manager last season.

I also hope Villa go down, if only to increase Stoke's chances of survival! Meanwhile, in a competition full of semi-decent teams, Malaga have pulled off one of the shocks of the tournament IMO, by knocking out the mighty Borussia Dortmund. So much for my prediction

[FullMetalJack]

I so hope Norwich go down this year. Can't stand most of their fans.

I suppose it's down to them being the local "big" team here in East Anglia, but still...

I'm really hoping Villa go down obviously. I want Norwich to stay up, purely because I want Chris Hughton to do well, was a massive fan of him when he was our manager last season.

I also hope Villa go down, if only to increase Stoke's chances of survival! Meanwhile, in a competition full of semi-decent teams, Malaga have pulled off one of the shocks of the tournament IMO, by knocking out the mighty Borussia Dortmund. So much for my prediction

Nope, Dortmund pulled it back, they're going through.

[takagi_for_the_win]

Nope, Dortmund pulled it back, they're going through.

Really? Faaaantastic Thats what happens when you turn your TV off in a huff when the team you want to lose score a patently offside goal though.

[Warren Hughes]

I so hope Norwich go down this year. Can't stand most of their fans.

I suppose it's down to them being the local "big" team here in East Anglia, but still...

I'm really hoping Villa go down obviously. I want Norwich to stay up, purely because I want Chris Hughton to do well, was a massive fan of him when he was our manager last season.

I also hope Villa go down, if only to increase Stoke's chances of survival! Meanwhile, in a competition full of semi-decent teams, Malaga have pulled off one of the shocks of the tournament IMO, by knocking out the mighty Borussia Dortmund. So much for my prediction

It ain't over till it's over

[DanielPT]

I also hope Villa go down, if only to increase Stoke's chances of survival! Meanwhile, in a competition full of semi-decent teams, Malaga have pulled off one of the shocks of the tournament IMO, by knocking out the mighty Borussia Dortmund. So much for my prediction

It ain't over till it's over

They have put in two goals in stoppage time. A fantastic turn around. Galatasaray surprised me though my winning 3-2 after being 3-1 a 'only' two goals away from the semis.

[DemocalypseNow]

After Dave Whelan's comments, I'd quite like to see Stoke get relegated. Usually I wouldn't give a flip about the most boring team in the Premier League, but now I have a reason to actively dislike them

[David AGS]

I hope Villa stay up. I think they are going the right way in terms of developing stars and may have peaked at the right time of the year.

Fotunately/Unfortunately I think it will be a straight fight between Sunderland and Stoke for survival. Its going to be close but I think Black Cats to stay up, just.

Not a huge fan of Stoke tbh, I think they play a boring style and still peed off by Shawcross and his tackle on Ramsey. But thats my opinion.

The only problem is when I read about Stoke, this very disturbing picture comes to mind.

(Warning!)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27453474@N02/5701095858

[DemocalypseNow]

Just realised I said Dave Whelan was the Stoke chairman.

That is of course wrong. So basically I hope all of Wigan, Reading and Stoke get sent down. Although that seems unlikely given how QPR are firmly rooted in the relegation zone.

[andrew2209]

What interests me is whether any of the relegated teams would be able to regain promotion immediately. Sunderland probably could with di Canio as manager, and a reasonable squad, and Villa would almost certainly bounce back up. However QPR, Reading and Stoke would find it tough in my opinion, especially QPR who may have to have a clear-out if/when they go down.

[Barbazza]

Well maybe, if QPR go down and basically bankrupt themselves because all of the overpaid expensive players that they now have, people will FINALLY realise that Harry isn't a managerial genius but someone who has a history of doing this sort of thing (Portsmouth) or helping himself to the club's cash (my team)

[DemocalypseNow]

Well maybe, if QPR go down and basically bankrupt themselves because all of the overpaid expensive players that they now have, people will FINALLY realise that Harry isn't a managerial genius but someone who has a history of doing this sort of thing (Portsmouth) or helping himself to the club's cash (my team)

I'm quite interested to see what will happen with all the players QPR have to sell off. Where will they all end up?

[Aerospeed]

Well maybe, if QPR go down and basically bankrupt themselves because all of the overpaid expensive players that they now have, people will FINALLY realise that Harry isn't a managerial genius but someone who has a history of doing this sort of thing (Portsmouth) or helping himself to the club's cash (my team)

I'm quite interested to see what will happen with all the players QPR have to sell off. Where will they all end up?

Given their luck, probably Wolverhampton or somewhere like that.

This is rather (somewhat) good news for me as QPR will never be forgiven in my eyes for throwing away a 2-1 lead over City during the last game of the season, effectively giving them the title.

[Nessafox]

Meanwhile in Belgium, things get overcomplicated again. Beerschot failed to get a professional license for next season. (because of being 17M in debt and not following instructions they had to do to obtain the license for current season). Normally this would get them relegated to third division (which is the highest non-professional league). But they are allowed to finish the currenct competition. They're playing play-downs against Cercle Brugge to decide who gets relegated to second division straight and who has to play play-offs against teams from second division (are you still following?) and basically, as they protested the decisions, they can continue playing both play offs. Now if they end up last in the play-downs, that's just their problem. However if they win the play-offs and play-downs, and the license fail gets confirmed, the second of that play-offs will go to first division (which is probably Westerlo, Mouscron or STVV). Now Cercle could protest too, meaning that we might end up with 17 teams in first division. (as second division champion Oostende will automatically go to first division). Still following? Things could get even more complicated, as one of the teams already qualified for that play-off round is WS Woluwe, who also failed to get a professional license. If somehow Woluwe wins that, things would become very complicated. Now chances are high that Woluwe will not complete the season, and that this problem will not rise. However things in second division would get shaken up quite a little (as also Brussels, Boussu Dour and Heist failed to get a prof license). In the end, there's a small chance that Beerschot's city rivals Antwerp will get promoted. Which would be very painful as their current management was kicked out by the Beerschot management 2 years back. Still following? Well, there's a small chance that Cercle will play in the Europa League next year, as they're playing the cup final. Still following? The degradation play-offs consists of 5 games, with the 15th placed team playing 3 times at home, and 2 times away, starting with a 3 point advantage. Yes, this makes no sense, but this is Belgium. And as you people still obviously understand the system, i should not mention the other play-offs to decide the title and the European places, as they are similarly absurd. Now i don't like the idea of play-offs in the first place, but Belgium has really made a mess of it. And the license system is a good thing in theory, meaning that only financially healthy clubs can survive, but it can make a mess out of the competition too. I've put this in one alinea, because you'll not be able to follow it anyway.

[Warren Hughes]

Meanwhile in Belgium, things get overcomplicated again. Beerschot failed to get a professional license for next season. (because of being 17M in debt and not following instructions they had to do to obtain the license for current season). Normally this would get them relegated to third division (which is the highest non-professional league). But they are allowed to finish the currenct competition. They're playing play-downs against Cercle Brugge to decide who gets relegated to second division straight and who has to play play-offs against teams from second division (are you still following?) and basically, as they protested the decisions, they can continue playing both play offs. Now if they end up last in the play-downs, that's just their problem. However if they win the play-offs and play-downs, and the license fail gets confirmed, the second of that play-offs will go to first division (which is probably Westerlo, Mouscron or STVV). Now Cercle could protest too, meaning that we might end up with 17 teams in first division. (as second division champion Oostende will automatically go to first division). Still following? Things could get even more complicated, as one of the teams already qualified for that play-off round is WS Woluwe, who also failed to get a professional license. If somehow Woluwe wins that, things would become very complicated. Now chances are high that Woluwe will not complete the season, and that this problem will not rise. However things in second division would get shaken up quite a little (as also Brussels, Boussu Dour and Heist failed to get a prof license). In the end, there's a small chance that Beerschot's city rivals Antwerp will get promoted. Which would be very painful as their current management was kicked out by the Beerschot management 2 years back. Still following? Well, there's a small chance that Cercle will play in the Europa League next year, as they're playing the cup final. Still following? The degradation play-offs consists of 5 games, with the 15th placed team playing 3 times at home, and 2 times away, starting with a 3 point advantage. Yes, this makes no sense, but this is Belgium. And as you people still obviously understand the system, i should not mention the other play-offs to decide the title and the European places, as they are similarly absurd. Now i don't like the idea of play-offs in the first place, but Belgium has really made a mess of it. And the license system is a good thing in theory, meaning that only financially healthy clubs can survive, but it can make a mess out of the competition too. I've put this in one alinea, because you'll not be able to follow it anyway.

[Ataxia]

Meanwhile in Belgium, things get overcomplicated again. Beerschot failed to get a professional license for next season. (because of being 17M in debt and not following instructions they had to do to obtain the license for current season). Normally this would get them relegated to third division (which is the highest non-professional league). But they are allowed to finish the currenct competition. They're playing play-downs against Cercle Brugge to decide who gets relegated to second division straight and who has to play play-offs against teams from second division (are you still following?) and basically, as they protested the decisions, they can continue playing both play offs. Now if they end up last in the play-downs, that's just their problem. However if they win the play-offs and play-downs, and the license fail gets confirmed, the second of that play-offs will go to first division (which is probably Westerlo, Mouscron or STVV). Now Cercle could protest too, meaning that we might end up with 17 teams in first division. (as second division champion Oostende will automatically go to first division). Still following? Things could get even more complicated, as one of the teams already qualified for that play-off round is WS Woluwe, who also failed to get a professional license. If somehow Woluwe wins that, things would become very complicated. Now chances are high that Woluwe will not complete the season, and that this problem will not rise. However things in second division would get shaken up quite a little (as also Brussels, Boussu Dour and Heist failed to get a prof license). In the end, there's a small chance that Beerschot's city rivals Antwerp will get promoted. Which would be very painful as their current management was kicked out by the Beerschot management 2 years back. Still following? Well, there's a small chance that Cercle will play in the Europa League next year, as they're playing the cup final. Still following? The degradation play-offs consists of 5 games, with the 15th placed team playing 3 times at home, and 2 times away, starting with a 3 point advantage. Yes, this makes no sense, but this is Belgium. And as you people still obviously understand the system, i should not mention the other play-offs to decide the title and the European places, as they are similarly absurd. Now i don't like the idea of play-offs in the first place, but Belgium has really made a mess of it. And the license system is a good thing in theory, meaning that only financially healthy clubs can survive, but it can make a mess out of the competition too. I've put this in one alinea, because you'll not be able to follow it anyway.

So, the Belgian system is all a load of waffle?

[DemocalypseNow]

Meanwhile in Belgium, things get overcomplicated again. Beerschot failed to get a professional license for next season. (because of being 17M in debt and not following instructions they had to do to obtain the license for current season). Normally this would get them relegated to third division (which is the highest non-professional league). But they are allowed to finish the currenct competition. They're playing play-downs against Cercle Brugge to decide who gets relegated to second division straight and who has to play play-offs against teams from second division (are you still following?) and basically, as they protested the decisions, they can continue playing both play offs. Now if they end up last in the play-downs, that's just their problem. However if they win the play-offs and play-downs, and the license fail gets confirmed, the second of that play-offs will go to first division (which is probably Westerlo, Mouscron or STVV). Now Cercle could protest too, meaning that we might end up with 17 teams in first division. (as second division champion Oostende will automatically go to first division). Still following? Things could get even more complicated, as one of the teams already qualified for that play-off round is WS Woluwe, who also failed to get a professional license. If somehow Woluwe wins that, things would become very complicated. Now chances are high that Woluwe will not complete the season, and that this problem will not rise. However things in second division would get shaken up quite a little (as also Brussels, Boussu Dour and Heist failed to get a prof license). In the end, there's a small chance that Beerschot's city rivals Antwerp will get promoted. Which would be very painful as their current management was kicked out by the Beerschot management 2 years back. Still following? Well, there's a small chance that Cercle will play in the Europa League next year, as they're playing the cup final. Still following? The degradation play-offs consists of 5 games, with the 15th placed team playing 3 times at home, and 2 times away, starting with a 3 point advantage. Yes, this makes no sense, but this is Belgium. And as you people still obviously understand the system, i should not mention the other play-offs to decide the title and the European places, as they are similarly absurd. Now i don't like the idea of play-offs in the first place, but Belgium has really made a mess of it. And the license system is a good thing in theory, meaning that only financially healthy clubs can survive, but it can make a mess out of the competition too. I've put this in one alinea, because you'll not be able to follow it anyway.

So what you're telling me is, the 14th placed team in the regular season can still make Europa League even without a cup run?! I have no words for that kind of stupidity...

[Nessafox]

Meanwhile in Belgium, things get overcomplicated again. Beerschot failed to get a professional license for next season. (because of being 17M in debt and not following instructions they had to do to obtain the license for current season). Normally this would get them relegated to third division (which is the highest non-professional league). But they are allowed to finish the currenct competition. They're playing play-downs against Cercle Brugge to decide who gets relegated to second division straight and who has to play play-offs against teams from second division (are you still following?) and basically, as they protested the decisions, they can continue playing both play offs. Now if they end up last in the play-downs, that's just their problem. However if they win the play-offs and play-downs, and the license fail gets confirmed, the second of that play-offs will go to first division (which is probably Westerlo, Mouscron or STVV). Now Cercle could protest too, meaning that we might end up with 17 teams in first division. (as second division champion Oostende will automatically go to first division). Still following? Things could get even more complicated, as one of the teams already qualified for that play-off round is WS Woluwe, who also failed to get a professional license. If somehow Woluwe wins that, things would become very complicated. Now chances are high that Woluwe will not complete the season, and that this problem will not rise. However things in second division would get shaken up quite a little (as also Brussels, Boussu Dour and Heist failed to get a prof license). In the end, there's a small chance that Beerschot's city rivals Antwerp will get promoted. Which would be very painful as their current management was kicked out by the Beerschot management 2 years back. Still following? Well, there's a small chance that Cercle will play in the Europa League next year, as they're playing the cup final. Still following? The degradation play-offs consists of 5 games, with the 15th placed team playing 3 times at home, and 2 times away, starting with a 3 point advantage. Yes, this makes no sense, but this is Belgium. And as you people still obviously understand the system, i should not mention the other play-offs to decide the title and the European places, as they are similarly absurd. Now i don't like the idea of play-offs in the first place, but Belgium has really made a mess of it. And the license system is a good thing in theory, meaning that only financially healthy clubs can survive, but it can make a mess out of the competition too. I've put this in one alinea, because you'll not be able to follow it anyway.

So what you're telling me is, the 14th placed team in the regular season can still make Europa League even without a cup run?! I have no words for that kind of stupidity...

I haven't told you about 'play off 2' yet, but actually yes, that is possible. The following scenario is possible: the 4th (Club Brugge) and 5th(Lokeren) placed teams from regular competition qualify for champions league, the 6th (Standard), 14th (Lierse) and 16th (Cercle) teams from regular competition(out of 16) qualify for Europa League. In that case the 16th placed team would be the only one who diserved it at merit (if they win the cup final) so the entire top 3 of the regular competition could theoretically end up with nothing.
So i'll explain the play-off 2 format for you. Teams 7 (Mons), 9 (Kortrijk), 12 (Gent) and 14 (Lierse) play in Group A Teams 8 (Mechelen), 10 (Leuven), 11 (Charleroi) and 13 (Beveren) play in Group B. Both groups start with 0 points and play 6 matches. Both winners will play the play-off 2 final. The winner of Play off 2 will play against the 4th placed team from play-off 1
Now i'll explain you play-off 1. All top 6 teams (Anderlecht, Waregem, Genk, Cl. Brugge, Standard and Lokeren) start with half their points from the regular competition. All teams will play 10 games, and the top 3 gets European places, the 4th will play against the winner of play-off 2. This could be the 5th, might Genk win the cup and at the same time qualify for CL-rounds.
Then there's play-off 3 (which are called play-downs) and the play-off which decides about promotion from 2nd division which i've both talked about above.
And oh, in 2nd division and lower, there are also 'periodical champions' the promotion play-off consists of the winner of the Play-downs (Beerschot or Cercle), period 1 champion (Woluwe), Period 2 champion (Oostende), Period 3 champion (probably too Oostende). Now as Oostende is already champion overall, so they'll promote anyway. Their place will be taken by the 2nd and 3rd in competition (Mouscron and Westerlo). Now because Woluwe is making a mess out of things, they could well be replaced by the 4th overall (Sint Truiden). Thankfully Woluwe has decided not to play these play-offs, so the only legal issues should be Beerschot (as mentioned above). Now because 1 team in first division and 4 teams in second division don't get their professional license, probably nobody will get relegated to third division. But this is Belgium, the country where you can protest every legal decision until infinity...
If a team doesn't get a professional license, they will automatically play in division 3 (the highest amateur league). However if a team goes bankrupt, it has to get relegated at least 2 divisions, no matter which division they were originally in. (so a team can start again in third division, but will still carry over it's debt, hence why very often they do a fusion with a local smaller team.
Now every team has a Matricule (something which other countries don't aplly) which is the reason why old clubs as Antwerp (2nd division) and RFC Liege (division 4) still carry on, despite having huge financial problems. This also complicateds fusions, as lot of teams don't want to do fusions, because they would lose their titles as happened to the old Beerschot, 7 time champion when they merged with Germinal Ekeren, or Beveren, 2 time champion when they merged with Waasland. (the opposite can happen too, like Standard merging with Seraing, but keeping Standard's matricule)
Now this is Belgium, so there would automatically be some smartass. Before Racing Brussels became part of RWDM (currently FC Brussels), they just changed matricule with a local team, so now KFC Rhodienne can claim they are 6 times champion of Belgium, despite never having played higher than 4th division.

So every country that thinks about running play-offs, really, don't! (or at least, keep it simple)

[roblo97]

Meanwhile in Belgium, things get overcomplicated again. Beerschot failed to get a professional license for next season. (because of being 17M in debt and not following instructions they had to do to obtain the license for current season). Normally this would get them relegated to third division (which is the highest non-professional league). But they are allowed to finish the currenct competition. They're playing play-downs against Cercle Brugge to decide who gets relegated to second division straight and who has to play play-offs against teams from second division (are you still following?) and basically, as they protested the decisions, they can continue playing both play offs. Now if they end up last in the play-downs, that's just their problem. However if they win the play-offs and play-downs, and the license fail gets confirmed, the second of that play-offs will go to first division (which is probably Westerlo, Mouscron or STVV). Now Cercle could protest too, meaning that we might end up with 17 teams in first division. (as second division champion Oostende will automatically go to first division). Still following? Things could get even more complicated, as one of the teams already qualified for that play-off round is WS Woluwe, who also failed to get a professional license. If somehow Woluwe wins that, things would become very complicated. Now chances are high that Woluwe will not complete the season, and that this problem will not rise. However things in second division would get shaken up quite a little (as also Brussels, Boussu Dour and Heist failed to get a prof license). In the end, there's a small chance that Beerschot's city rivals Antwerp will get promoted. Which would be very painful as their current management was kicked out by the Beerschot management 2 years back. Still following? Well, there's a small chance that Cercle will play in the Europa League next year, as they're playing the cup final. Still following? The degradation play-offs consists of 5 games, with the 15th placed team playing 3 times at home, and 2 times away, starting with a 3 point advantage. Yes, this makes no sense, but this is Belgium. And as you people still obviously understand the system, i should not mention the other play-offs to decide the title and the European places, as they are similarly absurd. Now i don't like the idea of play-offs in the first place, but Belgium has really made a mess of it. And the license system is a good thing in theory, meaning that only financially healthy clubs can survive, but it can make a mess out of the competition too. I've put this in one alinea, because you'll not be able to follow it anyway.

So what you're telling me is, the 14th placed team in the regular season can still make Europa League even without a cup run?! I have no words for that kind of stupidity...

I haven't told you about 'play off 2' yet, but actually yes, that is possible. The following scenario is possible: the 4th (Club Brugge) and 5th(Lokeren) placed teams from regular competition qualify for champions league, the 6th (Standard), 14th (Lierse) and 16th (Cercle) teams from regular competition(out of 16) qualify for Europa League. In that case the 16th placed team would be the only one who diserved it at merit (if they win the cup final) so the entire top 3 of the regular competition could theoretically end up with nothing.
So i'll explain the play-off 2 format for you. Teams 7 (Mons), 9 (Kortrijk), 12 (Gent) and 14 (Lierse) play in Group A Teams 8 (Mechelen), 10 (Leuven), 11 (Charleroi) and 13 (Beveren) play in Group B. Both groups start with 0 points and play 6 matches. Both winners will play the play-off 2 final. The winner of Play off 2 will play against the 4th placed team from play-off 1
Now i'll explain you play-off 1. All top 6 teams (Anderlecht, Waregem, Gent, Cl. Brugge, Standard and Lokeren) start with half their points from the regular competition. All teams will play 10 games, and the top 3 gets European places, the 4th will play against the winner of play-off 2. This could be the 5th, might Genk win the cup and at the same time qualify for CL-rounds.
Then there's play-off 3 (which are called play-downs) and the play-off which decides about promotion from 2nd division which i've both talked about above.

Huh

In England, at the end of each season, 3 teams go down and 2 teams in the championship (division 2) go up automatically whereas 3,4,5&6 enter a playoff tournament with two legs and aggregate score wins, after that the 2 winners face each other in a playoff final at Wembly to decide who gets promoted